


Harbor

by digitalsoop



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-27
Updated: 2013-10-27
Packaged: 2017-12-30 16:08:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1020693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitalsoop/pseuds/digitalsoop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt!fic</p><p>The first date of Makoto and Gou.</p><p>Cross posted from Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Harbor

**Author's Note:**

> Text that is italicized and in quotes are text messages. This stands apart from Incalescent. This was written long before the festival episode and does not line up with canon.

_"My classmates and I are going to the beach in the next town tomorrow. I think they’re doing their festival! Do you want to go? I already asked the rest of the team but they haven’t replied yet."_

_"Is it okay to invite us?"_

_"Well, it’s not really a school trip. It’s just something we all decided to do with our free time. You’re my friends so I want you there!"_

_"I’ll go."_

_"I can’t wait to see you!"_

Makoto wasn’t sure how many times he had read the conversation, but it was definitely more than necessary. After all, there wasn’t anything particularly out of the ordinary about the conversation. Was he just nervous? He hadn’t been to the festival since he was young… his parents had actually been surprised when he had told them where he was going.

But Gou didn’t know. She was just happy to go to a festival with her friends. He pressed his knuckles to his lips, hiding the small smile that had crept onto his face. He lifted his head when he heard the train come in. The phone was slipped into the pocket of his swim trunks as he walked to the platform, but he stopped in his tracks when only one person stepped off the train.

Gou couldn’t even pretend to look cheerful, and her shoulders sagged as she explained that they were the only two swim club members that would be going. “I wonder if my classmates are even going anymore.”

He felt like it was the first time he was seeing how tiny she really was. He could definitely lift her up with no problem, but instead he put his hands on his hips. “Gou,” he smiled when she looked up at him. “It’s okay if they don’t go. We’ll still have fun together.”

Though Gou had been eager to hit the road, when he had told her how far of a walk it was she wasn’t exactly quick enough to hide the reluctant look on her face. There was no convenient train route there, and though he had tried to reassure her it wasn’t that bad, she still seemed unsure.

"I’m not worried about getting tired," she admitted. "I’m worried we’d be really late."

So they walked to his house instead, and for the first time in a while he pushed his bike out to the sidewalk. He frowned a bit as he placed a hand on the rear rack of his bike. “This will be faster, but you’ll have to sit behind me.”  

She looked the bike over once, then dug a towel out of her bag and carefully set it down on the rack. They both tilted their heads, and Gou finally nodded. He swung his leg over and sat down, holding the bike steady as she lifted herself onto the back of his bike, sitting sideways.

"I can just let my legs hang, right?"

"Just don’t let your feet touch the tires."

"Can I put my bag on your handle bars?"

"Sure." He turned slightly to take it from her, and once it was securely hung put a foot on the pedal. "Ready?"

"Um. Can I hold on?" Even as she asked he felt her hands grasping at his shirt. His mouth had suddenly become dry, so all he could do was nod. She leaned up against him, her hands gripping his waist. "Okay."

He went slow at first, expecting her to be nervous and scream in surprise; though her grip was tight, she was leaning against him comfortably; she didn’t seem too worried that he’d suddenly tip the bike over, and that didn’t change when he sped up and they were coasting down the street.

They didn’t talk during the ride, though every so often he heard Gou exclaim about the view and he would laugh because her hands would press tighter against his ribs. The ocean was easy to see for most of the trip, and the water was calm and glittered in the sun, which made the old houses and the trees seem more beautiful than usual.

He couldn’t help but wonder what Gou looked like sitting behind him. "Ah, I can see the harbor!"

"Really? Can you see the festival?"

He couldn’t, really. He definitely should have been able to, unless they moved the festival to another place. “Not yet.”

Gou hummed behind him, a serious, solemn tone that meant she was thinking the same thing he was. “Can you pass me my phone?”

The bike was pulled over to the side of the road, and he straddled it as he dug into her bag and handed over the pink phone. She carefully put one of her feet on the ground as she thanked him, her expression grim. “I missed a call. Maybe this is the wrong town?”

He shook his head. “This is the only town that has a festival this time of year.”

She sighed, absently leaning against his back again. “I’m sorry I missed your call. Eh? Really? But I’m already here… no, it’s okay. I came with Makoto, from the swim club. Next time, okay?”

Makoto turned his head, though he knew he wouldn’t be able to see her. “What happened?”

"They moved the festival date. They thought there would be bad weather. One of my classmates called everyone to let them know, but I missed it." She spoke slowly, and he could feel her shoulders sagging against him. He didn’t say anything, and only moved so he could look at the harbor beyond.

"I used to come here a lot," he smiled. "Even when there wasn’t a festival, I would visit. Did you ever come here when you were younger?"

"No, but I knew about it."

"It seems like it’s only a small fishing town, but they actually have really great food, and nice stores. Do you want to look?"

Her hands moved back to his waist, and she pulled her feet away from the ground. “Just the two of us?”

He laughed, putting his foot on the pedal. “Sure. I like spending time with you, Gou.”

Her grip tightened for a moment, and he was glad she couldn’t see him because his face was bright red the whole time he pedaled the short distance to the harbor. Once they were there she hopped off the bike so quickly he was very sure that he had made her feel awkward. But she waited patiently as he locked his bike to a rack.

"Okay," he smiled as he turned back to her. "Let’s go."

She nodded, and walked beside him silently, which did nothing to help his embarrassment. He clenched his jaw, glancing up at the street signs and the stores, his face growing hotter as the silence dragged on. Out of habit he lifted his hand to cover his mouth, and was surprised when he felt it brush against Gou’s fingers.

They both stopped, and he fumbled with his apology when he realized he had started to talk over her. She looked up at him, her face bright red and her hands clenched at her sides. “S-sorry.”

"It’s okay—"

"I just thought—"

"I didn’t mean to hit your hand."

She looked surprised, raising her hand to her face to gingerly pat her cheek. “You mean… you moved on accident?”

He tried to swallow but his mouth had been dry since they had gotten off the bike. He brushed his hand against his swim trunks, nodding. There was no way he was going to admit he had actually been trying to hide his face. “I didn’t realize you were that close.”

"Um," she began frantically pushing her bangs behind her ear, looking up the street. "Yeah I guess I wasn’t paying attention."

Though he hadn’t felt winded when he had gotten off the bike, his breathing was starting to become heavy and the longer they stood in silence the more it seemed like Gou was having the same struggle. Her mouth would move slightly as if she was going to speak, and then just as quickly she would bite her lip, continuing to push back hair that was already carefully tucked away.

He took a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck. “About earlier… I guess I made things kind of awkward, didn’t I?”

"It’s okay, it made me happy!" She looked away, fiddling with her bag and suddenly she was speaking rapidly. "Which is why I thought, since it’s just the two of us, that maybe we could hold hands, and find something nice to eat. Since it’s just us."

Makoto stared down at her, and this time his hand did cover his mouth. The thought hadn’t crossed his mind, but now that she had mentioned it… he couldn’t stop looking at her hands. She was still bright red when he looked back at her face, and somehow instead of becoming more nervous, he felt at ease, and he moved his hand away from his mouth. He felt she couldn’t possibly look cuter than she did then, but if he didn’t take his chance now he would never really know for sure. “Gou, do you… want to go on a date with me?”

"Right now?"

He nodded, looking down at her as earnestly as he could possibly manage while his face was flushed and his hands were pressed tightly against the sides of his legs. He had always imagined that he would be much cooler about asking a girl on a date, but Gou smiled up at him anyway, pressing a hand against her cheek.

She giggled nervously, and he was surprised he didn’t melt right there. She held out her hand as she nodded, and he was quick to take it. She was still gently patting her cheek in hopes to cool it down. “Okay! Maybe we could share some ice cream. I think it got pretty warm out.”

He laughed. “I think so too.”


End file.
